Don’t just ban smoking on-Site; help employees quit

Even if you ban smoking at work, nicotine-addicted employees will still manage to find a place to light up. And trying to hire only nonsmokers could create legal troubles.

So what’s the best way to cut your high health costs related to smokers? Actively help them quit.

Employers’ smoking-cessation efforts can cut health care expenditures per quitter by $2,146 over a four-year period, estimates the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And productivity gains—which are immediate once the smoker stops taking cigarette breaks and smoking-related sick days—average $1,503 in the first year.

Smoking cessation: 3 case studies

At L-3 Communication’s 1,200-employee East division, the medical director teamed up with the pharmacy benefits manager and the on-site fitness center to craft a plan to help employees stop smoking without gaining weight.

Smokers who enrolled in a smoking-cessation program received information a...(register to read more)

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